At Work With... Nikuda Productions

By Libby Barsky

Special to The Jewish State

Name: Nikuda Productions

Type of business: Video production and editing

Address: 8 Price Drive, Edison

Telephone: (908) 256-3973

Website: www.nikudaproductions.com

Number of employees: 3

Founded: 2001

Top officers: Barbara Lustiger, President; Alan Lustiger, Vice President

How would you describe your business?

"We make creative and original videos, from camerawork through DVD and tape replication," said Alan Lustiger, Vice President of Nikuda.

"It's an end-to-end video house," explained President Barbara Lustiger. "Our videos can be for the consumer all the way to the corporation level. We either go on site in order to do an event, or it's and in-house production, like a bar mitzvah or graduation. We also make videos around a product for corporations and display [them] as web commercials. Web commercials are becoming increasingly important because they are more personal. When someone comes to your site, they should know what you have to offer within 30 seconds. By having a web commercial on their site, all the senses are involved instead of just the words. Web videos have been found to enhance sales to up to 80 percent."

What makes your business special?

"We specialize in videos that can be shown at public events, like fundraising dinners and graduations. Instead of listening to speech after speech, the audience can see an entertaining video that highlights the great features of the organization or school, and this in turn helps our clients get their message across effectively," Alan said.

"Similarly, we create videos that can be shown at bar/bat mitzvahs, anniversaries or sheva brachot,  allowing the audience to see the highlights of the celebrants' lives.

"We also have projectors and sound systems that we can set up to show our videos in any venue.

"Our videos are all individualized and labors of love. We work closely with our customers to create unique, professional videos that have features that normally wouldn't be found in videos that cost three times as much. We make our own custom animations, transitions, titles, and music. Once we gain a client, they come back to us year after year."

What goals do you have for the business?

"We are expanding our client base beyond N.J. and into N.Y. There is more competition in N.Y., but our videos are, frankly, better than most," Alan said.

"Longer term, we want to be able to build a true video production studio for the Jewish community, where we can branch out and create original entertainment and educational videos in-house."

How has your business changed?

"Nikuda started off with schools as our main clients. One of our first items was software to provide a Hebrew font so the word processor would be able to print Hebrew,' Barbara said.

 "Then we videotaped and edited plays, science fairs, and other events," Alan said. "While we still have a significant school client base, we now also do corporate videos, web commercials, and software demonstration videos as well."

What was your most important deal?

"Our first client was a yeshiva day school, and a great deal of our business came from repeat business and word of mouth from people who saw our first videos for their annual dinner and graduation. Our growth has come almost all from recommendations from our existing clients, or people who viewed the videos at public events of simchas.

"Perhaps more important was a video we made for a charity in Israel. Our production helped raise a great amount of money, far more than the organizers expected, and this money all went into helping to feed poor Israeli children," Alan said.

What changes do you expect in your business in the next 10 years?

"Technology always moves forward, and we have to keep ahead of the curve. HDTV production will become a much larger part of our business. With high-speed Internet, we will be able to produce and deliver videos to customers world-wide, not just in the local area. We will also be moving more from one-time presentations toward family entertainment videos that can have a nationwide audience."

What is the most important thing you've learned in your business?

"Understanding what the customer wants," Alan said. "Videos aren't cookie-cutter products, and each one has a unique mood and point of view. We show our customers the videos at different stages of production so we can adjust them accordingly."

What advice would you give to someone considering your line of work?

"To be successful, you need to be skilled in videography , photo editing, video editing, music production, titling, credits, transitions, animation, computers, sound and projection systems," Alan said.

"It is a lot of hard work and it involves a lot of sleepless nights, so if you want to do it, you have to love what you are doing."

Is there anything else you would rather be doing?

"Video production is unique in that it is so flexible and adaptable," Alan said.

"If we need to, we could be making videos for everything from iPods to IMAX. We meet interesting people, and we always have new challenges. Creatively, this job cannot be beat. Nothing is more rewarding than being involved in helping Jewish organizations and charities succeed."